A member of

Newsfeed

The apparent U-turn by the Pentagon over DU use by aircraft in Operation Inherent Resolve has been cautiously welcomed by campaigners, but is it a sign of a wider policy shift? Is the threshold of acceptability for the use of DU in operations rising in response to international pressure over the controversial munitions and what part has the A-10 played in this?

The Pentagon has announced that depleted uranium (DU) munitions have not, and will not, be used by US aircraft in the conflict against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The policy U-turn contrasts with statements made over previous months, where Pentagon officials claimed that DU would be used if needed; the decision reflects a growing stigmatisation of the controversial weapons.

The news that US A-10 gunships are now also active in Syria in operations against Islamic State has coincided with the emergence of reports that Syrian civilians fear the long-term health impact of the Coalition’s airstrikes.

For the next two months the majority of arms control and disarmament campaigning will be concentrated on the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. Here's our guide to what is actually happening.

The European Parliament has long supported a global moratorium on the use of depleted uranium weapons and with a fifth United Nations General Assembly resolution on the topic approaching this autumn, the parliament is growing increasingly vocal.

In a wide-ranging resolution on Iraq, the European Parliament has called on EU member states to develop a common position in favour of a ban on DU weapons, support affected communities and decontamination.

Following a global Day of Action event last November, where PAX’s Wim Zwijnenburg briefed members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Iraq, a cross party group of MEPs have submitted a question to the EU’s foreign affairs chief Cathy Ashton.